Mallrats
by cranapplesurprise
Summary: Azula, Ty Lee, a teenage crush, and boring Sundays in a Virginia shopping mall. Modern AU for Fall Tyzula Week 2015.
1. Luck

_**AN:**_ _This is a drabble series for Tyzula Week. Unlike my main drabble series, I won't be containing more than one drabble in each chapter (I'm updating every single day, anyways). It's a Modern AU taking place in a mall because I've always wanted to write that. And is in Ty Lee's POV without any switches._

* * *

 _ **Mallrats**_

* * *

 _ **I. Luck**_

Azula Shohona ain't your average girl next door.

Mostly because of the fact that _next door_ is an understatement; she lives in some isolated Colonial Manor or whatever outside of the main city or even the town we grew up in since her family has more money than God and their ancestors have probably been burned as witches. It _is_ close to my house though so it counts. Plus, if I had to make a checklist, Azula would completely fit that glorious 80's movie image that nobody has gotten over yet.

I've seen glimpses of her since I was a kid and Azula Shohona stole my new bike for no reason other than the cheap thrill or whatever, because she didn't take it very far and didn't seem to really care about it herself. Justly, I guess, 'cause I can't picture Azula Shohona wanting a bright pink Barbie bike with pinker confetti tassels on it. Not when her dad has bought her five cars when she doesn't even have a permit yet.

Azula ain't that ordinary cute girl; she's real odd and I don't know that 'cause of watching her for hours, _no that would be creepy_.

Okay, okay, this is totally all because I'm about to tell the story of how I met her and we fell in love and it was perfectly like _The Notebook_ except not. Today on a slow Sunday at my really fun job (and this morning I brought donuts and that made it fun for _everybody_ ), is the first day that Azula Shohona acknowledges my existence.

I've never even talked to her until today. And... maybe I really _wanted_ to talk to her before today. It's a lucky encounter in a Sephora. I.E.: the Sephora I have a summer job at to pay for stupid gymnastics camp that really isn't so stupid but I have bigger dreams than that. Like a princess at Disneyworld, a professional cheerleader or a showgirl.

Oh! Back to the point. The first words she says to me are insanely beautiful. Like, these are going to be on our wedding invites because they are like a poem or something. Here, okay, here's what she says:

"Do you have that in a less hideous color?"

She talks like a really sultry angel. Or maybe a cute... witch or something. I've been examining the cruddy costume shop set up across the way but it doesn't have that many costumes and the women's ones seem to only know of one adjective.

"Less hideous than uh...?" I blow it within seconds. "Well, I mean, I think you could probably pull off anything because you are _really_ pretty. Did you know that?"

"Yes. I know I'm very pretty," Azula replies without batting an eyelash. "But this eye shadow is not."

"Mmm. Yeah, I agree," I say honestly. Neutral tones are gross, even with the sparkles. "Okay, okay, your aura is screaming Matchbox palette cerulean. It glitters."

Azula looks at me and I seem to have done pretty well, because she shrugs.

"What is an aura?" Azula asks as I realize that we totally are more than out of that palette; it's totally discontinued as of two days ago and now I'm going to _kill my future marriage to her_.

"It's the... _vibe_ of a person. I don't know, my mama is a hippie." Ty Lee shrugs and smiles, wishing she had not said anything about Azula's aura and how beautiful the colors really are. Or how the sun seems to shine only for her pretty often.

I look under the desk, keeping composed and bouncing around as much shallow chatter as I can get out of my strawberry flavored lips. There it _is_ ; there's one left and I can almost scream from excitement as I pull it up and gracefully avoid hitting my head on the counter. I am seriously the luckiest girl ever and it is _amazing_.

"You're a dancer, aren't you?" Azula asks and I haven't danced in _forever_ since I wound up on some stupid track to Olympic gymnastics when I really want to be a showgirl.

"Yeah," I chirp as I show her the colors.

She seems to approve of the eye shadow I picked out for her. Well, duh, I found the right color. I'm _amazing_ at my job. As I move to ring it up, which is the part I'm less amazing at, she stares for a few seconds.

"Didn't we used to do ballet together?" asks the girl of my dreams and I grin.

"Yes," I say casually, but inside I am _screaming_.

She remembers that!

"Right."

And then she buys the make-up with the dark blue debit card that she's messing with in her really smooth hands (note to self: ask what kind of lotion she uses... or maybe not, that might come off as too much of an advance). And after that she leaves.

It seems pretty dumb, but it is the beginning of a love story way better than _anything_ ever recorded in history.


	2. Kittens

_**II. Kittens**_

I'm playing at the pet store after work because my stupid annoying car-hogging sister still hasn't picked me up. The kitties are the cutest thing in the whole entire world and nobody is going to convince me any different no matter how hard they try.

It is _literally_ the most boring day in the history of time and I am _literally_ dying even though I'm playing with adorable little kittens making mewling sounds that I just can't get over at all.

Then something shows up that I can't get over either. Because for the second Sunday in a row, there was Azula Shohona in the mall, walking without hesitation, not carrying her own bags or whatever; whoever was is totally hidden behind them all.

Okay, okay, okay, okay, so I try to brush all of the cat fur off of my clothes but I really can't, and so I'm standing there, jumping on one foot and trying to salvage my super cute pink shirt ─ the one with the lace on it that's a little bit torn but I'm too pretty for anybody to notice ─ from the...

"What's on you?" Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. She said _more words_ too me.

"Things. Of fur from those little... animals!" I bat my sorta sometimes fake eyelashes and Azula Shohona stares at me. "I don't know what these are called!" I tug at it again, oh... and _riiiip_ is the only sound I will _ever hear for the rest of my life_.

Azula Shohona is laughing ─ okay, no, _cackling_ ─ and somebody should just stab me in the face. Oh, and there comes her best friend Mai who I actually really like but she is a constant downer and I'm not and I'm the ray of sunshine that Azula Shohona's world _absolutely totally needs._

I've freaking lost my shirt. Or at least most of it. _Lace is the worst fabric even though I thought it was the best before_! She manages to rein herself in as I stare down at the mess I am, and the amused kittens beneath me.

"Do you want to take one of these?" Azula holds up one of her shopping bags and I'm staring at it with my mouth wide open and probably pink lipstick _all over my teeth_ which I don't know if I brushed well enough this morning. Not that she's gonna kiss me. But this _is_ my pretty bra and you never know.

"I'd love that!" I'm smiling too hard. But I don't care. I mean, it probably looks normal for me as Azula waves her perfect, _perfect_ hand and her friend halfheartedly follows the two of us as we walk towards the bathroom by the Orange Julius.

It's not the nicest. Totally not the nicest, but it smells a bit perfumey and not gross. Which is _really good_. Azula smells interesting. The shirt she's handing me smells like Abercrombie  & Fitch perfume but she's sharper, if such a thing is possible.

"I'll put on my shirt now or something!" I smile. Oh, please let it be my cutest smile.

"Right. You do that." Azula sits on the counter as if it is a throne and I'm like speechless of course.

I'm getting dressed silently except for my shoes screeching against the floor. Azula is so fixated on her phone as I look sadly at my shirt, and how it is both torn and covered in...

"Clumps! They're clumps!"

And that is definitely the dumbest thing I've ever said in front of Azula Shohona.


	3. Divorce

_**III.**_ _**Divorce**_

I'm really not sure why I see her again. I would have completely noticed if Azula Shohona was hanging out at the mall all time. I figured she had way better places to shop, but I see her again the next Sunday, and I have no idea why she's here.

But do I care? Totally not! I'm really excited and nervous and everywhere in between as I sit at my table alone with my lipstick-stained soda straw scraping against my lower lip. There's no way she's gonna eat Panda Express in front of all these people. She's a country club person and I've always been like _enamored_ with that entire fact about her.

She is so many amazing _beautiful wonderful things._ And she always seems to totally know that, which I, duh, admire and can relate to. But these past three times I saw her ever since she remembered that we did ballet together as kids, she's seemed kind of sad.

I never was sure if I wanted to make-out with her or _be her_ , if you know what I mean. _Finally_ , Suki gets here and sits down in front of me, discarding her tiny tote bag with some weird character thing on it beside her.

"Are you staring at her again?" Suki asks, raising her eyebrow all condescending and I stick my tongue at her.

"I'm sorry that you're soulless and have never been in actual love with anybody," I snap, crossing my arms and trying to see around her and figure out where Azula Shohona has disappeared off to. "Do you know why she's at the mall the past three weeks?" I ask, since Suki would know; she does like _two clubs_ with Azula Shohona, and hates her.

"I'm sure she's just trying to escape her house," Suki explains as she steals a fistful of fries from beside the finished Chinese food. "Her parents are going through a horrible divorce."

My eyes are huge like glowy saucers or something. I can't believe I didn't know that and I also can't believe that Azula Shohona is going through that. It's so sad.

"Do you think I can do anything?" I ask dreamily and Suki rolls her eyes and pops two of the fries into her mouth.

I gaze at Azula and see her drinking Starbucks and staring at her phone. She still looks way too good for the world around her, but I now can see that glossy type look of her eyes and a flicker in her aura.

Azula Shohona clearly, obviously, clearly, in her really sad and hard situation needs a new best friend like me.

(or more than best friend)

(or more than best friend _like me_ )


End file.
